GSMP Held Their Eighth Annual ‘Innovation Corridor’s’ Economic Outlook

Tracking U.S. and regional economic trends for Wells Fargo, Vitner gave a presentation on current trends in housing markets, commercial real estate, regional economies, consumer spending and issues impacting small businesses…

By, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

On May 2, the Greater San Marcos Partnership held their eighth annual Economic Outlook.

The event addressed the economic growth experienced by Hays and Caldwell counties and included a speech from Texas State University President, Denise Trauth, Managing Director and Senior Economist of Wells Fargo, Mark Vitner and a panel of Mayors from Lockhart, Kyle and San Marcos.

The event opened with a few short words from President Trauth regarding the economic impact the university plays in the innovation corridor; in her speech, she highlighted STAR Park and its economic impact through research and innovations in technology and science.

STAR Park is the “Science, Technology and Advanced Research” Park at Texas State University. It is the University’s first building dedicated to research and commercialization efforts. Completed in June 2013, “the 36,000 square foot building serves as a technology incubator for start-up and early-stage businesses.”

“Since we provide state of the art laboratories and we lease space at market rates, we remove what could be a significant barrier for these companies as they try to bring their products to the marketplace granting them access to facilities, which would have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars to build allows them to concentrate on growing their businesses,” said Trauth. “Star Park has grown to house six clients and employ 77 people. Nearly one-fourth of those employees are Texas State graduates. One of our economic goals is to keep Texas State graduates in this region.”

Vitner was the keynote speaker for the event; responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends, Vitner gave a presentation on current trends in housing markets, commercial real estate, regional economies, consumer spending and issues impacting small businesses.

Among the topics and data addressed in the presentation was unemployment trends outside of the farming industry in Austin, San Antonio as well as Hays and Caldwell Counties.

The event concluded with a three-person panel moderated by GSMP president Adriana Cruz. The panelists included Mayor of San Marcos, John Thomaides, Mayor of Kyle, Travis Mitchell, and Mayor of Lockhart, Lew White.

During the panel, the mayors discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the “Innovation Corridor” and their cities in regards to economic development. All three mayors also discussed their goals for their cities in future.

Mayor Mitchell noted that Kyle was rapidly growing, and the city was facing the challenge of balancing its growth with infrastructure, taxes, bills and inflation.

Mayor Mitchell said some Kyle residents’ tax bills had doubled in the past two years, and 85 percent of the city’s workforce commutes away from the city.

“The problems that a city like Kyle, the challenges that we face can’t be solved alone,” Mitchell said. “They certainly can’t be solved in the most efficient manner alone if we have a wall sided mentality where it’s us against the world. All that does is cost our taxpayers more money and increase the expense of our projects.”

Mayor White said Lockhart’s had “slow, steady growth,” but it lacked retail and commercial growth compared to some of its neighbors.

“Lockhart has a different set of challenges there,” White said. “We’re working with about 10 percent of the sales tax that some of our neighbors are able to use for incentives. But we use our incentives wisely; we use every type of tax incentive that we can use.”

White said now that the dust has settled on the SH 130 project, the traffic count is not what was expected. But it is steadily growing as people discover the ease of access it provides between San Antonio and Austin.

White said in Caldwell County, 40 percent of the commuter community travels to Austin while 10 percent commutes to the San Marcos/Hays County area.

Mayor Thomaides acknowledged the opportunities in and the unique qualities of San Marcos; while its iconic features, such as the San Marcos River, help bring character and charm to the city, it comes with its challenges.

Flooding and stormwater management have been a major issue over the last three years from the Memorial Day Flood in 2015 to Hurricane Harvey last August.

Thomaides said San Marcos was a small town but has grown in recent years to a medium sized city. The city faces challenges with not only the natural environment but housing as well. Thomaides said in his experience from the last 15 years of public service, the challenges a city faces as its grows eventually become opportunities.

Mitchell and Thomaides briefly mentioned the partnerships and opportunities available to them referencing the cities’ joint capitol project to Alliance Regional Water Authority Pipeline and Groundwater Importation project.

“It’s a really exciting time to be the mayor of Kyle because of the relationships that our city has with many of the surrounding jurisdictions and a lot of the overlapping jurisdictions,” Mitchell said. “They’re incredibly strong.”